Sautéed Cauliflower: Our Unexpected Crave

Y'all, an unexpected thing happened to our family this winter.  We fell in love with cauliflower. I have always liked it, but never would I have thought that the words *cauliflower* and *crave* would be used in the same sentence.  But now, I crave it, and it shows up on the grocery list every week.

Here's how it happened: I was making the Cauliflower Soup that my friend Lindsey had been raving about.  It is a creamy (from the veggies, not milk) blended soup with bits of roasted cauliflower nestled on top as a garnish.  As I was sautéing the garnish, we tested one to check for doneness and flavor and then we started nibbling.  I swiftly went back to the refrigerator to cut up some more to add to the pan because it was clear none was going to make it to the soup. We ended up loving the garnish even more than the soup. (Though the soup is a winner.)

As we were chomping, we recalled a time we went with friends to the Tavern in midtown and got a buffalo cauliflower appetizer that was incredible.  It made me think about dipping them in some buffalo sauce.  The next time we sautéed cauliflower we tried it and it was yummy- especially to my guys.

Now sautéed cauliflower has become a main dish, a side dish, and a snack at our house. This week we made brown rice bowls layered with sautéed cauliflower and roasted kale, and rotisserie chicken with a drizzle of buffalo sauce and crumbles of blue cheese.

Herb Salted Cauliflower (Roasted or Sautéed)
You can oven roast or sauté depending on the time you have and amount of cauliflower you are making.
If you are making a bunch (a large head or more) you might rather roast on a baking sheet.
If you need it faster, you might choose sautéing in a frying pan.

Wash and chop cauliflower into small pieces.  Toss in a drizzle of olive oil.  Sprinkle with herb salt, or coarse salt and some dried rosemary and/or basil.

For sautéing- place in a pan on medium high heat and stir occasionally until tender, transparent and the edges are golden. Sprinkle with salt or herb salt.

If roasting- place on rimmed baking sheet and cook at 375˚ for 20-30 minutes, stirring a few times here and there.  Remove from oven when cauliflower is tender, transparent and the edges are golden. Sprinkle with salt or herb salt.

Let this simple, nutrient-packed, savory treat inspire your next meal! 

Quinoa Bowls...Pass it On

When I find something great, I can't wait to pass it on!
We have a new favorite meal at our house that I have been wanting to share with you for several weeks.  These early dark dinner hours have made it really hard to capture the meal in photos in order to post it.  So, this weekend I made it for Saturday lunch so that I could get photos with natural light.

This meal, Quinoa Bowls, was generously made for our family by my friend Maureen, while Dave was out of the country several weeks ago. It was so delicious, we all devoured it.  She had gotten the idea from Lane, when they and their husbands had eaten together a while back.  So, thank you Lane and thank you Maureen for passing it along!

after meal Jenga

after meal fire in a real fire place

I wondered  if it just tasted so good because I didn't make it and it was so special to have someone cook for me and my kids, or if it was the loving company.  My mom has always said, "It's the company that seasons the meal." I believe this is true.

That being said, I have since made it for my family several times and they love it.  So I think it's a great meal regardless of whether it's with special company or just everyday family members.

It's really more of a "concept" than a recipe, as you can adapt it anyway you like to make it as simple or elaborate as you want! 

There are some WARM ELEMENTS and some COLD ELEMENTS.
The point is that you make the warm ingredients and prepare/chop the cold toppings and then set it out to pile in bowls and devour.  It's build your own bowl.

For the Warm- 
Quinoa- start with this.  If you have a rice cooker, you can use it to make your quinoa, if not, just make it on a pot on the stovetop.  Just make it according to the package.  Portion-wise: I would suggest 1 cup dry for every 4 portions.  For my family of 5, who usually returns for seconds, I usually make 2 cups dry.

Black Beans- I usually open cans of black beans, rinse and drain beans.  Add a little water and season with kosher salt, cumin, garlic powder, and Cholula (or Tabasco) to taste.  Place on medium heat and stir until warm, turn heat down to low and stir occasionally. 

Kale- This is the last step of the process.  Sauté a couple of cloves of fresh garlic in a Tbsp. of olive oil in a skillet.  After a couple of minutes add roughly chopped/torn raw kale.  Stir around occasionally until kale is wilted, and soft but not mushy.  It shrinks drastically.

before

after

If you have carnivores that can't handle a meatless meal, or if you just want to add another element- We have warmed chicken sausage (sliced and browned on the skillet) to add to our bowls.  If you want to go meatless, you can forgo this! 

For the Cold-
Green Onion- thinly slice

Cilantro- wash and pluck leaves off

Feta-crumble

Limes- dice (to squeeze on top of the bowls)

Avocado-dice

Tomatoes- dice

Then just line it all up, put out a stack of deep bowls and spoons and let people pile their own creation.

The other night when we had this for dinner, we were discussing what ingredient was the "most essential" and we really couldn't decide (or agree).  We'll let you be the judge- but something about the flavor combination is just right.

(Sprinkle some salt and pepper on top- and Hot Sauce if that's your style.)

I love meals where you can make a bar and people can fix it like they wish, and I really love a meal that is comforting and nourishing and beautiful!  

Here is the line up at my house:

The Asher

The Julie

The Lainey

The Dave

The Lucy

Speaking of passing it on, and speaking of comforting, nourishing and beautiful...

Several weeks ago, I saw via Instagram that our very talented artist and designer friends, Jay and Kristi Smith, had designed and produced a spiritual/therapeutic coloring book!  I was so excited to hear about it and wanted to get a few for Christmas gifts.  I emailed Kristi to ask her the best way to purchase a few and she ended up coming by the house to bring some for me to buy.  She said she had heard about the CD, Amazing Love,  that Dave had produced for our church's 5th Anniversary and wanted to buy one.  So, they came and we made the transaction. It's beautiful and I can't wait to get my pens and pencils in it!   It is beautiful, spiritually encouraging and therapeutic!

(If you need any last minute Christmas gifts- both this album and this coloring book are lovely!)

Click here to view their blog and read about the story behind the Coloring Book.

Wishing you health, beauty and comfort this season.  

Summer Eats Post #2: Chocolate Poundcake and Homemade Ice Cream

When I was looking for a delicious but simple chocolate cake to accompany my friend, Lane's  homemade mint ice cream she was making,  I chose this Chocolate Poundcake from Joy the Baker.  It's from her recently published beautiful, and delicious cookbook, Homemade Decadence,  that I got for Christmas.  I have been reading it and marking pages and little by little trying things from the book. It is chock-full of beautiful sweet treats.  

I made a practice cake since this was going to be for her birthday and I didn't want to take a risk.  I wanted to ensure that it was moist enough and rich and chocolate-y enough.  Not surprising, it met the standard! Joy the Baker is a safe bet.

I was able to share my practice cake- 1/2 with some pals of Asher- when they hung out together that afternoon and the other 1/2 I sliced, packaged, and sent with Dave on his hospital visit to a family friend who had just had a baby. (It sliced and packed up nicely - I like this quality in a baked good.) And I got to have a piece and then get it out of my house so I didn't eat my entire "research".

Later that week,  I made it again for Lane's birthday and she made this INCREDIBLE mint chocolate chunk ice cream to go with it.  HERE is the recipe she followed.  She said it was her starting point though she tweaked it a little.  It was perfect! I haven't had a chance to attempt it myself, but homemade garden mint chocolate chunk ice cream is as good as it gets.

The cake was a good accompaniment to the ice cream.  It's a good stand alone or with ice cream.

Chocolate Pound Cake with Chocolate Glaze
from Homemade Decadence

Makes one 9 X 5 inch loaf

the Cake:

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1/3 cup hot coffee

1 ¾ cups cake flour (or all-purpose)

1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

¼ cup buttermilk

¾  cup dark chocolate chips

the Glaze:
(These are Joy the Baker's quantities, but I feel it's too much glaze.   I thought it overpowered the flavor of the cake. When I made it the second time, I halved the glaze recipe. It's your call).

1 ½ cups powdered sugar, sifted

3 Tbsp. cocoa powder

pinch of salt

3 to 4 Tbsp. milk or water

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1.     Put a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350˚. Grease and flour a 9 X 5 inch loaf pan and set aside.

2.     For the cake, in a small bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder and hot coffee.

3.     In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs, one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition.  Beat in the vanilla.

Add the flour, baking powder, and salt.

4.     With the mixer on low speed, beat until just combined.  Add the cocoa-coffee mixture and beat well.  Beat in the buttermilk.  Fold in the chocolate chips.  Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. 

5.     Bake until a wooden pick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, with just a few crumbs, 50 to 60 minutes.  Let cool for 20 minutes before inverting the cake onto a wire rack to cool completely. 

6.     Meanwhile, for the glaze, in a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, salt, milk, and vanilla.

7.     Once the cake has completely cooled, drizzle the chocolate glaze on top.  Let set for 30 minutes before serving. 

The cake will keep, well wrapped and at room temperature, for up to 4 days.

  

     

    

I didn't get to capture many photos of the finished product since I promptly gave it away! 

 But I snapped a couple.

I've also been making this good simple Ice Cream recipe this summer.  And while my daughter, who is obsessed with chocolate ice cream, has wished that I would only make chocolate this summer, I have managed to make banana and vanilla too, using the same base recipe.  (Which upon first bite she remembers the glory of non-chocolate homemade ice cream as well.) 

I wrote a few years ago about another recipe for homemade Ice Cream and some stories and tips of ice cream freezing.  If you want to read more on this subject click HERE. 

Vanilla Ice Cream (makes 5 quarts)

6 cups milk (1%, 2%, whole milk or a combination)

2 ½ cups half and half
1 ½ cups whipping cream

2  1/4 cups sugar

1 tsp. salt

1 1/2 Tbsp. vanilla extract

Pour milk into a large pot.  Scald milk on stove top until bubbles form around edge. Remove from heat.  Add sugar and salt.  Stir until dissolved.  Stir in half and half, vanilla and whipping cream. Cover and place in the freezer for 30 minutes or so to cool (or in the refrigerator for an hour or more). Once cooled off, freeze as directed on your ice cream freezer.  

*In the recipe the milks are interchangeable.  The recipe calls for 10 cups of milk total, so do the math and as long as it adds up to 10 cups of milk, the salt, vanilla and sugar proportions should be able to stay the same.  You can use more milk (1 %, 2%, whole milk) and less cream or 1/2 and 1/2 if you want it lighter and icier.  Conversely, you can do more whipping cream and 1/2 and 1/2 and less milk if you want it richer and creamier.  

I made it this week to go with Dave's Red Velvet birthday cake and I had 1% milk, 2 cups of whipping cream and 1 cup of 1/2 and 1/2.  So I used 5 cups of 1% milk.  My family loved it and Lainey said it tasted like snow cream.  It was creamy and icy.  

*Also, if you want to make Strawberry Ice Cream, simply add 5 cups pureed or finely diced strawberries to chilled mixture before freezing. 

or Banana: 3 cups of mashed or finely diced bananas to chilled mixture before freezing.  

or Peach: Add 5 cups of finely diced peaches to chilled mixture before freezing. 

or...whatever you'd like! 

for the chocolate version

Chocolate Ice Cream(makes 5 quarts)

2 ½ cups half and half

6 cups whole milk

1 ½ cups whipping cream

12 oz. chocolate chips (semi sweet)

2  2/3 cups sugar

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. vanilla extract

In a large pot, mix milks.  Add chocolate chips.  Cook over medium heat until chocolate is melted, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat.  Add sugar and salt.  Stir until dissolved.  Stir in vanilla.  Cover and refrigerate 2 hours or until cooled off.  Stir well. 

Freeze as directed on your ice cream maker.  

(If you want to make it banana- just add 4 cups of sliced or mashed bananas, if you want to make it with strawberries- 4 cups of berries, sliced, ...)

Enjoy these last days of summer!

Energy Bites: Healthy & Delicious (For Real!)

I don't know if you have made energy bites of some sort, but I have become a fan of these yummy and healthy snacks.   A while back, my friend Connie gave me a few of these she had made to sample.  After I had one, I immediately texted her, "YUM! I tried them and I need the recipe!"  Then, a few weeks ago it was my snack-bringing week for church and I felt the need to make something a little more substantially nutritious than the biscuits and coffee cake I had made the previous months.  I looked on my Pinterest breakfast board and found this recipe that was pretty much Connie's recipe but with peanut butter instead of almond butter. I had forgotten about the recipe! 

I made a double batch- which yielded 40 something balls.  They were all gone within a few minutes of serving them.  I don't know if people were desperately hungry or they really liked them.  We have lots of kids that congregate around our snack table at church, so I think we can call these delicious when kids and adults ate them, and we can call them healthy since they are chock full of flax seed, chia and oats! 

I made them again for my family this week and we have enjoyed having them for a quick snack or for a breakfast on the go.  I even had one for dessert the other night (though my son believes that despite that fact that they are laced with chocolate chips, they do not qualify for dessert) !

I'm trying to have things on hand that are protein-rich, as my kids tend to reach for crackers, chips, and starches for snacks.  Lately, I've made Hummus and Texas Caviar to have in the refrigerator and try to always keep yogurt and smoothie-making supplies on hand.  If I get my act together to have the good stuff within reach, and prep a couple of things for the week, they have good, tasty, healthy things within reach.  

 

Energy Bites

Makes about 20

1 cup (dry) old fashioned oatmeal

2/3 cup coconut flakes

½ cup peanut butter (or almond butter- take your pick)

½ cup ground flaxseed

½ cup mini chocolate chips

1/3 cup honey

1 Tbsp. chia seeds

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Stir all ingredients together in a bowl.  Let set in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.  

Form into small balls (about golf ball size).  

Put in an air tight container and keep in refrigerator. 

If this inspires you to get into healthy oatey bar/bite making, I have two granola bar recipes I love that I wrote about HERE and HERE and my favorite go-to granola recipe HERE, oh and the lovely chewy peanut butter granola HERE.  If you are short on time, these simple but nutritionally dense bites are super easy and quick to put together.  

Gratitude (and a Recipe Sharing Friend)

This time of year, between Thanksgiving and Christmas, breeds thankfulness. Unfortunately, I am easily overwhelmed in my life, and it sometimes feels paralyzing, and this time of year is so full that it is especially overwhelming.  I am engulfed with the messes in my house, the responsibilities that I carry, the individual and enormous needs of each of my children, things I need to do and things I want to do.  During this season, even the fun things (like holiday gift buying, baking, card sending, and decorating) can feel overwhelming. 

I have to stop and breathe and focus on GRATITUDE.

Gratitude is a powerful force.  It is more than a fluffy idea.  There is science behind it!

The research that has emerged recently on gratitude is incredible. 

Here are a couple of interesting pieces on the power of gratitude.

This short piece, by my hero Brene Brown, is about the link between Gratitude and Joy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IjSHUc7TXM

And this fun experiment measuring the link between Gratitude and Happiness, from SoulPancake.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHv6vTKD6lg

So, I am stopping for a moment and making a list of 10 things for which I am grateful TODAY. 

Some things I am grateful for are:

1.     The health of our family

2.     Wonderful schools with great faculty and administration that are impacting my kids everyday

3.     Good coffee

4.     Meaningful work with incredible students

5.     Laughter

6.     Neighbors with whom we can loan ingredients and tools, and lend a hand and feel so not alone in this life.

7.     God’s faithfulness- His mercies that are new every morning!

8.     The seasons

9.     A good night’s sleep under a fluffy comforter

10. Friends- old and new, near and far

#10- friends old and new, is the inspiration for this post.  I have a new friend, Sandi.  She is a very talented, wise and generous woman that I have gotten to know this fall.  She and her husband are in our small group at church and one of the unexpected blessings of this new friendship are the food and recipes that have come from her kitchen.  Because we share a meal together each week at group, we have the chance to eat each other’s food weekly!  (That is not a typical opportunity in many friendships).

She is a great cook and has so many recipes that are NEW to me.  It has been a boon for me and my kitchen! Through the years of my food blogging, one of the things that has kept me at it (when I wonder why in the world am I doing this in the vast number of food blogs on the internet) is knowing that some friend or some unknown friend, is finding inspiration and help with what to make for dinner.

Sandi’s gift of new, delicious, do-able recipes has been so great.  I couldn’t decide which recipe to share with you that I have tried of Sandi’s lately, so I decided to share both!  At the rate I am posting lately, I might should double-up when I do sneak the time to create a blog post!  

Recipe #1 is her Apple Cole Slaw.

I love it!

It is sweet and tangy and healthy!  It is good as a side with just about anything!

I have made it twice and I approached it differently each time, and it produced different results.  I liked them both.  I made it once in my food processor and it yielded a much finer, juicer slaw (think Chick fil a slaw texture) and the second time I chopped with a knife and it yielded more of a loose, crunchy salad.

Apple Cole Slaw

Salad

1 apple, chopped

4 slices pineapple, chopped

2 cups cabbage, chopped

Dressing

2 Tbsp. mayo

2 Tbsp. milk

1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

1 Tbsp. sugar

¼ tsp. salt

Mix together the dressing in a small bowl or measuring cup.

Toss together the apples, pineapple and cabbage.

Pour dressing over. Stir to completely coat.

Cover and refrigerate for about 30 minutes before eating.

Recipe #2 is Nani’s Cake

It's called Nani's cake because the lady who gave her the recipe got it from her Nani.   

My mom tasted it and said she thinks she has this recipe from somewhere in her past and called it Butter Pecan Cake.  I'd call it Sticky Coconut Bundt Cake.  It is a simple- throw it in a bowl, stir and bake cake.  It has a can of coconut pecan sticky frosting stirred into the batter- so it needs no frosting on top.  It gets even stickier and moister after a couple of days, so it is a great make-ahead dessert.  The coconut and nuts are not dominant, so even people who don’t love those ingredients would like it, I think.

Nani’s Cake

1 box yellow butter cake mix

4 eggs

1 cup vegetable or canola oil

1 cup milk

1 can (Pillsbury)- coconut pecan frosting*

1 tsp almond extract

Beat all together (including frosting).

Spray bundt pan generously.

Bake 350 for 40 minutes.

It gets better with each day so try not to eat it all the first day.

 * we used Betty Crocker frosting because they didn't have Pillsbury

Another gift from Sandi was the book, Not By Sight by John Bloom (President of Desiring God ministries). Click the link to read more about it.  It has been a refreshing morning read this fall.  I highly recommend it. 

So, thank you, Sandi, for sharing your kindness, and generous gifts.  What a blessing.

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I hope in the midst of these busy December days we can all purpose to spell our days with gratitude.

But be forewarned, it is sometimes vulnerable to do so!

PERSONAL CONFESSION: Surprisingly the act of writing the gratitude list in this post felt challenging- though in a good way.  I had to dig deep, and be still for a few moments to really think about the things for which I am grateful today. 

And the act of sharing the list feels/felt vulnerable and somehow risky, and I wonder if that may be part of what holds us back from practicing and expressing gratitude more!